The Mating Rituals of a Skylark
by Torashii
Summary: "Didn't you know," Reborn started, practically gleeful. "That certain animals have mating seasons?" Tsuna paused, a sudden feeling of foreboding coming over him. This would not end well.


**A/N:** actually, most of the things I put down here came from fact (skylarks have an pretty neat flight-song)

this website is deleting my line breaks. ffs

* * *

One Sawada Tsunayoshi was walking home, carrying several bags of shopping, before he was ambushed. The brunet almost blinked in surprise as he faced the handful of teenagers that stood (or more like, slouched) around him, trying to exclude a menacing aura. Tsuna thought they seemed sort of cute, trying that hard.

The thing was that it had been so long since any of his classmates tried to bully him, he almost had forgotten it ever happened. He certainly stopped seeing them as a threat long ago – after Reborn and the explosions and assassins; hell even _Lambo_ seemed more of a threat to him.

"Hey Dame-Tsuna. Where are you going?" One thug-wannabe sauntered over to the young mafia boss (if he could call that lopsided walk a saunter. Tsuna found himself wondering if the other boy somehow had put on underwear that was five sizes too small to cause such an awkward and uncomfortable looking gait).

"Home?" The brunet tilted his head, almost as in question. He was well aware the other boy didn't actually care where he was going, but it was just too hard to dredge up any reaction of fear of these people. It was extremely hard to take him seriously.

The other boy sneered, several of his lackeys sporting malicious grins. "Not if we have anyth–"

Whatever the other boy was planning to say was lost as an object was hurtled out on the sky, slamming straight into the bully's face and sending him sprawling to the ground. The mafia boss stared at the familiar silver object that had been thrown as a projectile. Looking up, Tsuna just managed to catch a glance of Hibari descending like a vengeful bird of prey, his black jacket flapping behind him like wings.

The brunet actually found himself impressed by the viciousness in which the Skylark dispatched his prey – under the assumption that Hibari had finally maxed out his bloodthirsty gauge sometime during the first year of high school. Namimori high underwent drastic changes that year. The school had to hire two more councillors to meet demands. Opting to wait until the prefect had finished (seeing as interrupting a biting could easily make one the new target of Hibari's _affections_), Tsuna idly stood by, checking his watch and hoping his mother wouldn't mind him being a little late back.

When everyone had been thoroughly bitten, Tsuna approached Hibari much with the trepidation one would have when approaching a wild and rabid animal. The brunet thought it was somewhat amusing he'd somehow taken on the same behaviour the prefect assumed, treating most people he knew as animals (Gokudera was definitely like a puppy, Mukuro a cat – albeit a very fickle one, Chrome a somewhat flighty bird, and even Reborn had become represented by a panther within his mind).

"Hello, Hibari-san." Tsuna smiled amicably, remembering to keep his posture non-threatening and his hands in sight.

He was met with a piercing stare from two narrowed grey eyes. The mafia boss sometimes found himself impressed just by how intense Hibari could be, and even being stared down as if he were some sort of prey; this was one of those times.

"Hn." Appearing oddly pleased with himself, the skylark gave Tsuna a grunt of acknowledgement before taking flight once more.

Shaking his head in wonder, the brunet went to finish his journey home.

X X X

Not a few days later, Tsuna found himself in another confrontation. Hiding behind a couple of rubbish bins as means for cover, the brunet grimaced and wondered if he ever would get a break. Luckily, his hyper intuition had allowed him to dodge the bullet – but he hadn't a single bit of his equipment with him. Reborn _constantly_ told him to be prepared, and keep his gloves on his at all times, but he honest to god left them in the pockets of another pair of trousers. Hence leading to his current situation.

Peering over the edge of the rubbish bin, Tsuna tried to catch sight of the would-be assassin. He didn't exactly have a plan, but he figured it would be better to make one when he had some inkling of what he was up against. After a moment or two, Tsuna managed to locate the attacker (with some aid of his hyper intuition). He was considering rushing the man – despite the danger of getting shot – and engaging in hand-to-hand instead. The stocky man seemed almost comically large when compared to Tsuna's frame, but Reborn had put the brunet through extensive training that bellied his appearance.

Before he really had a chance to act, the assassin made the first move – advancing forwards, gun trained in Tsuna's direction. The mafia boss allowed himself to scowl at the turn of events. However he soon found that his vantage point gave him perfect view of his assailant being taken down again. Only this time it wasn't a tonfa which came flying to his rescue, but Hibari himself – crashing knees first into the back of the assassin's skull.

Tsuna had heard of the prefect's increasing number of patrols and heightened viciousness recently. Despite being initially worried, he couldn't help the large feeling of relief that the cloud guardian was there. Once the assassin was successfully knocked out cold, Tsuna emerged from his hiding place, running up to Hibari.

"Thank you so much Hibari-san!" He gave the prefect a large, unguarded smile. "I didn't have my gloves with me, so you really saved me a lot of trouble."

For a moment, Hibari stared at the brunet. He raised his hand, and Tsuna had to hold back a flinch, wondering if the skylark was about to attack him for some reason. He almost jumped instead when he felt Hibari's hand on his head, petting his hair. The (oddly enjoyable) patting went one for a few moments before Tsuna found himself waving goodbye to the prefect, wondering why he looked so pleased.

X X X

Maybe a week after the assassin incident, for which Reborn gave him an extended tort-tutoring session, Tsuna lay asleep in bed. Well, he should have been asleep in bed, but the brunet sat up, rubbing his eyes and wondering what in hell had him waking up at the crack of dawn. It took a while to clear the grogginess, but soon he realised a particularly loud birdsong was being sung practically just outside his window.

Groaning and rubbing his eyes to look, Tsuna peered outside into the almost-light of the start of the sunrise. In the semi-gloom, the brunet made out a large human figure. After a silent minute of panic (because he had no desire to wake up Reborn and open _that _can of worms), the mafia boss realised he could recognise the familiar figure.

'_What's Hibari-san doing on a tree outside my house at dawn?' _

Shaking his head and hoping he could write it off as a particularly odd dream, Tsuna rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, despite the constant birdsong.

Unfortunately for the brunet, every morning from then on found the skylark perching on a tree (or rooftop) outside Tsuna's house, singing his birdsong. At first the mafia boss was amazed a human could even produce such a sound, but soon he became annoyed, and then resigned every time he was woken at the crack of dawn. He had tried investing in a pair of earplugs, only for Reborn to steal them away each time, with a smug I-know-something-you-don't-know look on his face. Hence two weeks later, Tsuna's day periodically started at around 4AM.

X X X

The sound of the school bell had rung, and Tsuna got out of his seat with a tired sigh. For weeks Hibari had been waking him up early. The brunet would have confronted him, if the prefect hadn't become even more volatile in the recent month. Anyone who threatened Hibari's 'territory' was bitten even more swiftly and harshly than before. The cover-up and repair bills of his cloud guardian's exploits were enough that Tsuna actually _needed_ to wake up at sunrise to find the time to deal with them. Needless to say, Tsuna couldn't be any happier it was finally a Friday.

Staggering out of the building, Tsuna could only slowly make his way towards the school gates, too tired for appearances. He could feel, more than see, Yamamoto and Gokudera lagging behind him, but for all their worried glancing, he didn't have the energy to keep up pretences.

"Small animal."

Tsuna's head shot up, looking for the owner of the voice that had just called out. Even if he hadn't memorised the voice, he wasn't aware of anyone other than his cloud guardian who called people by that particular address. Finally he saw the prefect lounging beneath a tree. He could almost have appeared as napping if it weren't for the piercing grey eyes that observed everyone leaving the school. The eyes that were currently trailed onto him.

"Y-yes, Hibari-san?" The brunet winced at his own stutter. Reborn had literally beaten it out of him once, and he wasn't keen on the arcobaleno trying a second time. The young mafia boss wasn't sure he'd survive.

"Come."

Taking a moment to register to command (and ignoring Gokudera's spluttering protests), Tsuna held back a yawn while he staggered over so he stood near the lounging Skylark. Before he could register any coherent thoughts, Tsuna found himself yanked down to fall into a heap next to Hibari. He looked at the cloud guardian in question, before straightening himself out into a posture that mimicked the other boy's.

"It is nap time, herbivore. There shall be no disturbances." At that, Hibari released a massive amount of killing intent, glaring pointedly at the still shouting Gokudera, who was soon dragged away was a smiling Yamamoto. Memories unbidden came into Tsuna's mind. Staying within the same hospital room as Hibari, trying desperately hard to make no sound, and ending up leaving more injured than when he arrived in the first place...

Unintentionally he froze up, refusing to move from his position, even when the skylark came close enough that they were almost _snuggling._

_'__Why is he playing this game with me now?' _Tsuna could only wail in the privacy of his mind. _'Can't he see how tired I already am?'_

Needless to say, when Hibari finally released the brunet, four hours later, he hadn't slept a wink.

X X X

It started with a simple statement.

"Hey Tsuna. Which guardian are you closest to?"

The brunet glanced up to stare at his rain, wondering where in hell that had come from. From around him, other guardians perked up in interest. They were attending their monthly bonding session on the school rooftop. Hibari had almost gone rabid at the trespassing of Mukuro upon his precious school grounds, but, well, _Reborn_ had wanted the bonding sessions so it happened either way. The skylark was sulking (although he pretended it was napping) as far away from the group as he could be.

"You mean who I live closest to? Uh well–"

Yamamoto waved his hands in protest. "I meant emotionally," he laughed sheepishly. "I think."

"Oi!" The volatile storm guardian couldn't help but interrupt. "What new level of idiocy have you reached? Stupid baseball freak."

"I mean, the one Tsuna is closest to would be the best at being a guardian, right?" The swordsman laughed, but Tsuna _swore _he caught a glimpse of challenge and amusement directed at the other guardians. The brunet wondered if he would have to re-evaluate what sort of rain guardian he had.

"Oya, oya." Mukuro came closer to the trio, draping his limbs all over Tsuna in the process. "I'm obviously the best. See how close I am to Tsunayoshi?" He gave the other two a leer that only just bordered upon the acceptable level of perverseness, while hugging the brunet in his arms close to his chest.

"Get your filthy hands off the Tenth!" Gokudera shot up in anger, ready to protect Tsuna to the death, even if it was from the perverted pineapple. _Especially_ if it was from the perverted pineapple.

"Yeah," Yamamoto laughed. "That doesn't make you the best."

Mukuro laughed in that oddly disturbing way of his. "No, but being the strongest makes you the best, and so I am the best." He punctuated this declaration by squeezing the brunet in his arms, who by that point was praying to any deity out there that a fight wouldn't break out _again_. He really couldn't afford the lack of sleep more paperwork would bring.

Before the other guardians could formulate a reply, a large amount of killing intent punctuated the area, and for the first time during their meeting, the cloud guardian spoke.

"I'll bite you to death."

Amidst the explosions and _clangs_ of weapons clashing with other weapons, Tsuna could only stay in the corner and lament how his prayers went unanswered.

X X X

Reborn was sporting that smirk when Tsuna finally arrived home. _That _smirk, the one which promised evil and chaos and unending amusement for the baby hitman at the expense of others. Tsuna only needed to see that smirk before he groaned and collapsed upon the bed, ignoring the 'A mafia boss' lecture Reborn immediately started about falling gracefully. Who the hell can fall gracefully?

Since his student wasn't paying attention, Reborn kicked him in the back of the head, before landing (perfectly of course) on the floor, his smirk widening. Tsuna sighed and relented.

"What is it?"

"What is what, Dame-Tsuna?"

"_Reborn._"

The brunet earned himself another kick in the head from the hitman, who was muttering about killjoys. Almost immediately, Reborn was back to his mischievous smirk.

"Do you know what month it is?"

"April," Tsuna responded tiredly. "Almost May, actually."

Reborn nodded. "And the season?"

"Spring." The brunet groaned. "Honestly, what's this about?"

"Didn't you know," Reborn started, practically gleeful. "That certain animals have mating seasons?"

"So?" Tsuna flopped back into his bed, convinced that Reborn was simply messing around with him.

"_So_, Dame-Tsuna, right now the Skylark is experiencing its mating season."

For a moment the brunet lay in his bed, mind processing the information. He quickly made the obvious connection, shooting up as he did so.

"Are you saying that Hibari-san is in _heat_?"

The hitman rolled his eyes. "Only females go into heat, Dame-Tsuna."

"So he's what? Attracting a mate?" Tsuna felt a headache coming on; he put his hands to his temples to rub them. The brunet wondered how he was even having this conversation about his cloud guardian. He wondered why he had such eccentric guardians in the first place.

"Exactly," Reborn responded, sounding far too pleased.

"There aren't any female skylarks around here anyway! This is ridiculous." The mafia boss sighed.

"Are you an idiot?" His tutor deadpanned. "Hibari is obviously human; he isn't trying to attract a bird to mate with." Tsuna wisely decided not to respond.

"Well why can't he go mate somewhere else? The repair bills are literally killing me."

"Obviously he's protecting his territory, he can't go somewhere else." Tsuna had no idea how it was obvious, but he let it pass. "Plus, the one he wants to mate is in Namimori."

The brunet blinked. "Who?"

Reborn looked at his student as if he was an idiot, which in Reborn's mind, he probably was.

"You."

The hitman watched on in amusement as his student froze. Tsuna's face progressively became redder as he processed the information.

"Th-th-that's impossible!" Tsuna practically shouted, forgetting not to stutter in his shock.

"He's been more protective of you–"

"He's just protecting Namimori!"

Reborn continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "He's been singing his mating call to you–"

Tsuna made a garbled sound of protest, which the hitman also ignored.

"He gave you a place to rest when you were tired, and drove away other nuisances–"

"That was bullying!" '_And how did Reborn even know about that?_'

The baby merely smirked in response, while still continuing.

"Then he proved himself best out of all the other mating candidates."

"He almost killed Gokudera!" Tsuna screeched, tugging at his hair in frustration.

"That just proves that he is the most suitable mate, baka-Tsuna. He'll provide the best genes for the strongest offspring. You should count yourself lucky." The hitman gave Tsuna a pat on the head, as one would do to a child who had received an award.

"_I don't want to carry his offspring_!"

Reborn simply gave a nonchalant shrug, before he went back to ignoring the ongoing shrieks of his student.

X X X

Tsuna sighed, glancing up at the beautiful blue sky. It was a truly magnificent day, perfect for hanging out upon the roof with his friends, eating their lunch and chatting happily. There was a calming atmosphere at school, away from mating skylarks or annoying babies...

Unfortunately for the brunet his day wouldn't turn out perfect (not that it ever did), seeing that he had forgotten his lunch.

"Tenth, you can have my lunch! I'm not hungry anyway." The silver-haired bomber tried to emphasise his enthusiasm to feed Tsuna by shoving his lunch in the brunet's face. As politely as possible, the mafia boss pushed it back towards his storm guardian. Gokudera was _finally_ taking care of himself, eating properly, sleeping properly and even reducing the amount he smoked (Tsuna was pushing to get the bomber to quit entirely, but for now that was good enough), and the brunet didn't want the process to stop for him. Gokudera shouldn't always be so willing to give things up for him.

Sighing, the brunet shook his head. "I'm not hungry enough that I would deprive one of my friends of their lunch. Eat it. I know you don't have many chances to eat good food since Bianchi started living with you." Tsuna stared resolutely at his storm, secretly amused at the pink blush staining the other boy's cheeks. "And I'll worry if you aren't eating properly," he added softly.

"O-okay! I'll eat, so that the Tenth doesn't worry." Embarrassment coloured the bomber's cheeks, but Tsuna could tell he was secretly touched.

Holding back a sigh, Tsuna lay backwards to stare at the sky. It really was a beautiful day, and he could already feel himself unwinding, drifting off...

A loud bang jostled Tsuna out of his daze, and the brunet shot upwards, looking around frantically for the source of the sound. Finally his gaze met the person who had caused the loud noise. Standing in all his glory, having obviously just descended from the sky (and how did he even _do_ that?), Hibari Kyoya stood proudly, a plastic food packet between his teeth.

Seeming satisfied with the shocked looked he received, Hibari stalked over to a startled brunet, and promptly dropped the packet of food – which turned out to be curry bread – into the other boy's lap.

"Eat."

Gokudera looked scandalised, Yamamoto seemed to be holding back laughter and Tsuna's face flushed a bright red.

"H-Hibari-san?"

The prefect nudged the food once more, to emphasise his message. For a moment, he frowned in what seemed to be consideration, before taking the packet of bread once more, and ripping it open with his teeth. He looked at the bread in thought, and Tsuna hoped to God that the prefect wasn't going to feed him mouth-to-mouth. With relief (and a tinge of disappointment that Tsuna quickly dismissed), Hibari merely held the bread in his hand, extending it towards Tsuna's face.

"Eat."

Tentatively Tsuna leaned forwards, ignoring the choking sounds he assumed were coming from Gokudera, and took a bite.

Face flushing, he leaned back again and swallowed. From the corner of his eye, he could see Yamamoto dragging away a struggling Gokudera. The rain guardian gave him a thumbs up, before they exited the roof. Tsuna's attention was drawn back to Hibari, when the cloud guardian nudged the bread in his direction once more, giving him a more pointed look.

Bite by bite, Tsuna eventually finished the bread offering that Hibari had given him. After it was finished, they fell into an oddly companionable silence. Although, there was one question that was stuck within the brunet's mind.

"Ano, Hibari-san. Where did you get the bread from?"

Besides knowing that the cafeteria usually ran out of bread very easily, Tsuna couldn't wrap his head around the mental image of Hibari lining up in a store, waiting to purchase some food. The domesticity somehow didn't suit him.

Tsuna must have become better at reading the skylark's expressions, because he recognised the smug look that flashed across the other boy's face.

"I went hunting."

In an alley, not a few streets away from Namimori middle lay several groaning thugs. The demon prefect had been particularly ruthless to them, although nobody understood why he had to take their only food too.

Tsuna sweat dropped. Now that he thought about it, he didn't think he really wanted to know.

X X X

Somehow, the feeding thing became a _thing_. Despite the numerous protests of his storm guardian, Hibari managed to bring Tsuna food every day and to the chagrin of the young mafia boss, fed him by hand. The brunet resolutely ignored all rumours that were created due to the skylark's new habit of taking food. Although the one that claimed he was raising his demon spawn gave a particularly frightening thought.

With a tired sigh, Tsuna opened the door to his house, taking off his shoes at the porch. He had to say that Hibari's method of courtship was the most peculiar one he'd come across (not that anyone had tried courting him before), but he found himself somewhat flattered by it. Even excluding the extra attention – which he had to admit was nice – the mere fact that Hibari decided to court _him_ proved that at some level they were the same species – in that sense, a carnivore (or omnivore in his case. It was close enough, Tsuna decided). Whether or not it was mating season, Tsuna couldn't imagine Hibari stooping to the level of pursing a herbivore.

That didn't mean he had any idea about how to respond. At least a quick internet search had told him that the Skylark's mating season ended in August, so he had the time to figure out what to do. (Tsuna was far past the point where the fact that such information would be useful for his _human _guardian bothered him).

Making his way up the stairs, the brunet was merely looking forwards to resting upon his soft, comfy bed. If anything came out of the whole 'mating season' ordeal, it would be his newfound love and respect for his bed. Upon making it to the landing, Tsuna twitched. He could hear voices, voices coming from his room in fact. He pushed open the door, entering in time to hear the tail end of a conversation.

"...it probably would be amusing."

"And you can hold it over him." Reborn smirked, before turning to Tsuna. "Oh, it seems one of the idiots has already arrived."

"Hey!" Tsuna's protest fell upon deaf ears.

"Well my business here is done." Mukuro turned to leave, his hand brushing the brunet's lower back as he walked past. "Ciao."

Tsuna was left dumbfounded. What the hell had that been about?

X X X

The young mafia boss knew something was up when Mukuro showed up at his school the next day. He was severely regretting not being able to squeeze any information from Reborn – because Tsuna _knew_ he was up to something – but right then and there, the brunet was wondering how in hell he would get Mukuro away without alerting Hibari. Somehow though, he had known it was not to be.

"I can't believe you." The brunet hissed, sending a glare at his mist guardian, who was laughing merrily. They were both running away from an incensed Hibari Kyoya, after the mist flame user decided to sneak up on the cloud guardian while he was asleep and poke him in the cheek. Tsuna had attempted to stop the older boy. Needless to say, he had failed.

"Can you honestly say it wasn't funny, little bunny?"

Tsuna twitched at the nickname as they rounded another corner. Mukuro had suddenly started calling him by the new nickname, much to the offense of Tsuna's small, but existent, masculine pride. He had to stifle a giggle although, at the memory of Hibari's cheeks mushed together in an imitation of 'kissy lips'. That was as far as Mukuro had gotten before the prefect had awoken.

"Fine." The brunet relented slightly. It had been pretty hilarious, Hibari's subsequent murderous rage notwithstanding. "It won't get us out of this mess though."

Mukuro grinned, and before Tsuna knew what hit him, the illusionist had swivelled around and stopped them both in their escape.

"Diversion tactic."

That had been the last thing Tsuna heard before he found himself crashing into an angry skylark with a large 'oomph'. They fell in a tangle of limbs and tonfa, with Hibari ending up on top of the younger boy.

With a groan, Tsuna rubbed his head, trying to get a grasp on what had happened. He froze, as soon as he heard a low growl from above him. Blinking, he found his face dangerously close to Hibari's. Tsuna clamped down on one of his signature squeals, opting to press further into the floor to get away.

"Hibari-san... I'm so sorry! I tried to stop Mukuro but he didn't listen – even though he _never_ listens, but–"

"Quiet, herbivore." The prefect growled, cutting off Tsuna's continuous babble.

The brunet hastily nodded, not daring to utter a squeak. After a moment or two, Hibari stood up, stiffly offering his hand for Tsuna to stand up as well. The young boss blinked, before accepting the offer with a smile.

"You must learn to control those crowding herbivores of yours."

"Y-yes." The brunet dared not to disagree, despite how impossible the task seemed. "I'll try to make it up to you...?"

Surprisingly, Hibari nodded, as if that were the correct answer.

"Come." He set off towards the direction they came, with a rapidly paling Tsuna following afterwards. He couldn't imagine what his cloud guardian would ask of him. A fight? An answer to his... mating proposal? The young mafia boss hoped it wasn't the latter. He still had absolutely no idea how to respond.

Tsuna blinked, almost staring at the prefect, when he had explained what he wanted. Hibari wanted him to lend his lap for a nap. The brunet fought down a blush. Somehow the notion of lending his lap to the prefect was almost mortifying in how embarrassed it made him. Yet, feeling as if he had no choice, Tsuna relented, trying very, very, hard to make no sound or movement as the older boy lay down on top of him.

Seeing Hibari's features relax from his almost permanent frown however was nice. '_He looks so peaceful,'_ Tsuna mused. '_It's almost cute.'_

Just then, Hibari switched and seemed to shuffle around. Tsuna had to refrain himself from tensing. If only the prefect wasn't such a light sleeper, he might have been able to enjoy it more.

X X X

After the last time Mukuro had visited their school, it was understandable that Tsuna was not pleased to see the illusionist once more. He eyed the older boy with a mixture of severe distrust and wariness, despite the fact that he had claimed that he wasn't there for 'the little birdie', as he put it. No, apparently he was there for _Tsuna_ of all things.

The brunet, understandably, did not believe a word the other boy said.

Surprisingly enough however, Mukuro stayed with him for the entire school day – using his illusions to become invisible to all but the other guardians – following him from class to class, during break and lunch and even to the bathroom. Now Tsuna, while unnerved (because Mukuro was highly unnerving) was not unused to being stalked. It was practically a given that Reborn would follow him everywhere, and (only until Tsuna had forcefully gotten him to stop) so did Gokudera. Even Yamamoto would follow after him like a lost puppy whenever he was feeling particularly down. So being stalked would have been fine. Acceptable even. However, being _touched_ was crossing the line.

"Hmm, you look so _tense_, little bunny." Mukuro smirked as ran his hand across the brunet's shoulders. "Why don't you loosen up?"

Swatting the offending hand away, Tsuna snapped at his mist guardian. "Stop that!"

Moving closer, so that he was leaning over the shorter boy, Mukuro raised an eyebrow in question. The effect was ruined by the obvious amusement in the other boy's eyes. "Stop what, little bunny?"

"Stop," Tsuna paused to swat another hand away, "stop _touching me!_"

"What if I don't?" The illusionist smirked, before leaning closer, and _closer, _until...

"Hibari-san!"

Having suddenly spotted the prefect on a patrol, Tsuna ducked beneath his mist guardian and practically bolted towards the surprised cloud guardian.

"Herbivore, what is the meaning of this?"

Hibari frowned at the brunet that had decided to use his body as a shield. Glancing up, he noticed just from who the brunet was hiding from.

"Pineapple herbivore." The prefect hissed.

Mukuro laughed in response, which only seemed to rile up the prefect even more. "If you would be so kind, return the little bunny to me."

At this, the skylark growled, all but enraged that the other boy dared to try and claim the fluffy herbivore. Without even bothering to utter his signature phrase, the prefect ran forwards and attacked.

Amidst the chaos of his two strongest guardians fighting, Tsuna wondered just when it had come to the point he was running _towards_ his cloud guardian for protection.

X X X

Mukuro was having the time of his life. Well, having a reasonably fun time, especially considering how his efforts in pursuing the young Vongola Decimo had constantly succeeded in reducing the skylark into an incensed rage. It was hilarious, in the illusionist's opinion, how his rival ended up twitching in restrained anger whenever he made a leering glance to the oblivious brunet, or how easily the other boy lost his composure whenever Mukuro came too close to the object of his affections. Yes, it was highly amusing.

But it was getting _old._

Let it not be said that Mukuro didn't delight in causing mischief. The illusionist made it one of his life goals to annoy his opponents (such as the skylark) into an early grave. And yet, even he was finally exasperated with the oblivious cloud guardian and his sky. It was so obvious that Hibari was lusting after the brunet, and even more obvious that Tsuna had liked the attention, developing his own feelings back. And that was_ it_, that was how far they developed before coming to this infuriating standstill where neither of them gave in and would fucking _fuck_ each other already.

Which is why Mukuro, for all his love of troublemaking, was actually going to the effort of trying to push them together through his own involvement. This time, the illusionist would force Tsuna to bloody choose already (even though Mukuro himself wasn't a real option, but the illusionist was sure the brunet would be choosing the skylark _anyway_) by becoming far more confrontational that before. He was becoming the 'bad guy' once more, so to speak. They had better appreciate him, dammit.

Glancing down at the trembling brunet that was oh so conveniently trapped against a wall, Mukuro thought of all the torture he'd put the new couple through for making him do this, and smirked.

"Oya oya, how are you today, little bunny?"

Tsuna squeaked and pressed himself further onto the wall. The brunet truly was like a rabbit, the illusionist mused. At least he could somewhat see what Hibari saw in him, if he was considering treating the other boy like a pet that was.

"I'm okay," the young mafia boss mumbled, trying not to look his mist guardian in the eye. After he had become relatively comfortable around Hibari (relatively, given that his heart rate still went up – albeit for an entirely different reason), Mukuro became his most intimidating guardian. "How are you?"

"Why, I'm feeling like some bunny stew today." The illusionist leaned in close. "I hope you wouldn't mind if I decided to eat you all up.

Tsuna's eyes widened, and he was caught between irritation and fear. He was no bloody rabbit. "Of course I would mind!" He huffed. "I'm not some pet for anyone to play with as they like!"

Mukuro grinned. "Really." He drawled, raising an eyebrow. "Not even the skylark? I'm sure he'd like to _eat_ you."

Almost immediately, Tsuna blushed a deep red. "H-Hibari-san would do n-no such thing!"

"But you wouldn't mind if he wanted to." The mist guardian countered, pleased at the progress he was making. He had already sensed the skylark's presence in the area. "In fact, I'm sure you would _want_ him to, no?"

By then, the brunet was babbling incomprehensively, and Mukuro decided to give him one more push. He leant closer, putting his lips to the other boy's ear.

"I know you do, little bunny. I won't be letting you go until you admit it."

Tsuna jerked, his face reddening further. He seemed to panic silently for a while, before he finally mumbled an answer. The illusionist grinned, deciding he could start teasing the other boy immediately.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. Speak up little bunny."

Tsuna grit his teeth. "F-fine!" Avoiding the other boy's eyes, and his face deep red, the brunet relented. "I like H-Hibari-san!"

With an air of satisfaction, Mukuro pulled backward and smirked. One down, one to go. Slowly, he raised a finger, and traced the Tsuna's face with it, lingering upon the other boy's lips.

"What a shame." Mukuro's tone indicated that he didn't think it was a shame in the slightest. "I might have to steal you for myself." Leering at the brunet, Mukuro placed one hand upon Tsuna's hip while mentally counting down.

'_Three, two, one.'_

An ominous aura suddenly invaded the area, and Tsuna involuntarily gave a shiver. Slowly turning around, the brunet was met with the sight of an enraged Hibari Kyoya, whose sight was fixated upon the hand Mukuro had just touched him with. The mist guardian wisely backed off, although he looked far too pleased for someone who had just pissed off the demon prefect of Namimori. The cloud guardian in question started stalking forwards, but to the surprise of one brunet it wasn't towards Mukuro, but to Tsuna himself.

"H-Hibari-san?" The mafia boss took a hesitant step back, hands raised in front of him in a gesture of peace. The only answer he received was the narrowing of a pair of angry, grey eyes.

"Hibari... san?"

When the prefect growled in response, Tsuna found himself backing up further. To his embarrassment he let out a high pitched squeak before he turned tail and ran. The skylark was quick on his heels.

Reborn, while coming up to stand besides Mukuro, gave an approving nod. "My student isn't as stupid as he seems."

Mukruo raised an eyebrow. "Really, arcobaleno? He ran away."

The hitman nodded once more. "Skylarks also court each other through high speed-chases."

The male mist laughed. "That'll be a pleasant surprise."

Reborn smirked.

X X X

Tsuna didn't have a plan as to where he would escape to; he just wanted to escape that ominous aura and massive killing intent of his cloud guardian. With a jolt he realised that Hibari was hot on his heels, and the brunet had to hold back a whimper at the fierce intensity of which the skylark stalked him. Instinctively, he drew upon his flames to make him go even faster, racing through the town as a near blur. He looked back to see if he managed to lose his pursuer, and instead almost had a heart attack at the sight of his cloud guardian _grinning_ while chasing him. Tsuna hoped he was delusional and so imagined the look of anticipation in the skylark's eyes.

Although his breath was starting to become laboured, he pushed himself further, trying to outrun the demon prefect on his heels. After a few minutes of high speed running, Tsuna realised exactly where he was heading. Whether he subconsciously gravitated there, or Hibari was actually cornering him was unknown, but Tsuna didn't slow down as he jumped over the gate to Namimori middle and rushed inside.

He didn't hesitate before entering the building, which was – after hours and deserted – somewhat unnerving. Quickly, he ran down a few corridors before ducking into a random classroom. It was only after he shut the door that he realised his mistake. He somehow ended up on the third floor, and he could neither jump from the window or – lacking his gloves – fly away. It was too late however, seeing as he could already hear the skylark approaching. Tsuna ducked behind the teacher's desk, clamping his hands over his mouth to stifle any sounds he made.

Slowly, he could hear the classroom door open, and his muscles tensed further. A minute passed, then two, before finally the door closed again. The brunet allowed himself to relax, letting go of a breath he wasn't even aware of holding. Shakily, he crawled out of desk and got to his feet. He turned around, only to meet a pair of steel grey eyes.

Hibari moved forwards, pushing the brunet backwards until he was trapped against the blackboard. The skylark smirked.

"I win."

"That's not fair Hibari-san! You cheated." Tsuna tried to glare, but only succeeded in pouting at the prefect.

"Are you dissatisfied with the outcome, little animal?" Hibari smirked for a moment, before his voice became dark. "Or would you rather be with that pineapple herbivore?"

Tsuna quickly shook his head.

"Then?"

The brunet fidgeted, lost as to what he should say. "Um."

Mustering up his courage, Tsuna decided to try something that he hoped would convey his feelings. In what he hoped to be the universal language for surrender, the brunet relaxed his muscles. He shut his eyes before leaning back and bared his neck.

Tsuna got a shock when he felt Hibari's breath on his exposed neck, and he couldn't hold back a gasp when the other boy bit it lightly, nibbling on the skin a little before drawing back. Hesitantly, the brunet opened his eyes to look at his cloud guardian.

The prefect's expression was smug, and the triumph of victory was clear within his eyes. Leaning back towards his new mate, Hibari smirked once more.

"Mine."

Later, the prefect could be seen looking extremely smug and somewhat refreshed. Tsuna on the other hand was found walking around dazed, with a prominent limp, and sporting an assortment of bruises and bite marks in interesting places.

Reborn wouldn't stop smirking at his student. Mukuro took one look at the brunet and started cackling.

* * *

**Omake**: The mating rituals of lions.

Tsuna woke up with a start, a blush high upon his cheeks. He shook his head, as if to erase the entire memory of his dream from his mind.

It was perfectly natural, the mafia boss told himself. A simple by-product of adolescence and puberty and hormones. He absolutely and most definitely was not... _horny_.

Nope! Absolutely not! He had gone fourteen years of his life immune to the desires of the flesh, and he refused to be corrupted now. Tsuna blatantly ignored the fact that it could be said he had already been corrupted by a certain skylark.

Thinking of his lover only brought a more prominent blush to the brunet's cheeks. Tsuna actually wasn't in objection to a relationship between himself and his cloud guardian. In fact, the mafia boss reluctantly admitted to himself that he was more than accommodating of the thought. The only thing was, that Tsuna never had been in a relationship before, and so when faced with the opportunity of expressing emotion or engaging in activities (and not necessarily the more adult-like ones) that were reserved for lovers, the brunet would feel an incapacitating amount of nervousness that would prevent him from actively taking part.

In other words, Tsuna was extremely shy.

So trying to tell Hibari ('_Kyoya_,' Tsuna reminded himself) that he wanted... to do things was pretty much impossible.

Resolved to overcome this challenge – the one where he wanted things in the first place rather than the one of being shy – Tsuna got out of bed to go take a nice, cold shower. He was sure it would all pass in time. Sadly for the brunet, it didn't pass in time. Instead, it got worse. Tsuna eventually became used to waking up in a fluster, his resolve to ignore the problem never fading. Like all things however, the problem was eventually revealed.

X X X

Tsuna stretched, finally releasing the tension in his muscles from hours of sitting at a school desk, but at last it was time for lunch. It was fairly warm, considering that it was already summer, and so the mafia boss had foregone both his vest and blazer to stick with a simple white shirt. Unbeknownst to the brunet, his actions were causing more than a small amount of controversy within his classroom. With a simple white shirt clinging to his body in the heat, languidly stretching in an unconsciously provocative manner... Tsuna was in fact, unknowingly seducing his classmates.

"Yamamoto, Gokudera? Aren't we going to go eat?" Tsuna tilted his head in question at his two friends, who until that point in time, were trying hard not to drool. His actions led to the slightest exposure of his neck, which immediately gained the attention of the other males in the room.

Gokudera swallowed nervously. "O-of course, Tenth."

"Yeah, let's go Tsuna," Yamamoto grinned, slinging an arm over the brunet. Tsuna could only tilt his head in confusion again (cue audible gulps) when his storm guardian gave his rain a dirty look. Well, it wasn't anything new. The brunet mentally shrugged, before following his friends to the roof.

His other guardians were already waiting. Ryohei was talking (shouting) at an intimidated Chrome; Mukuro was in the background, stealing the sun guardian's lunch and Lambo was running around as per usual. Tsuna didn't question the appearance of Mukuro or Lambo, who often visited them during lunch. He went over to sit besides his female mist, who gave his a pleading look. Both his storm and rain followed.

"Extremely good day, Sawada!"

Tsuna greeted his sun guardian with a smile. "Hello Onii-san. Shouldn't you eat before time runs out?"

Ryohei blinked. Maybe he had been knocked on the too many times, because he sure it was wrong to see his surrogate little brother as _cute. _Nodding an affirmative, the boxer stumbled over to where he had left his lunch, and promptly got into a fight with Mukuro over the stolen food.

"Thanks Boss." Chrome gave him a hesitant smile, to which he responded with his own.

"No problem." Tsuna stretched languidly, leaning back against the rooftop fence and raising his face to bask in the sunlight. A few guardians had to look away, blushes prominent upon their faces.

Seemingly called by the arrival of his mate, the telltale _thunk_ of Hibari's arrival upon the rooftop rang out. The prefect quickly glanced around, noting the embarrassed blushes of the other guardians (and promising himself to bite them to death later) before focusing upon his Tsuna.

"Tsunayoshi." Hibari greeted, watching as the brunet opened his eyes and smiled in greeting.

"Kyoya." Unknowingly, Tsuna raised his head once more, exposing a tantalising view of his neckline for the other boy. The brunet tried, and failed, to keep a blush off his face at the arrival of his boyfriend. He still had his nightly problem, and seeing the prefect in the flesh was doing no good for his imagination. Somewhat unconsciously, the brunet shifted, relaxing his shoulders and widening his legs to seem more accepting.

Inwardly, the prefect raised an eyebrow. He had heard people making comments about Tsunayoshi, but he hadn't believed them until he'd seen the brunet for himself. It truly was amusing, seeing Tsuna unconsciously seducing everyone through his innocent actions (and of course Hibari knew it wasn't intentional – he would be most aware just how shy the brunet really was). The prefect recognised, with no small amount of satisfaction that the brunet had paid no attention to the reaction of anyone else – in fact Tsuna probably wasn't even aware of the effect he was causing. Still, Hibari would bite the herbivores to death, who dared fantasise about his mate.

Smirking, the prefect strode over towards Tsuna, ignoring everyone else in his path. He was well aware that lions had their own particular mating rituals, and seeing the brunet stretch and bask in the sunlight like a contented cat, there was no doubt as to what he was emulating.

Standing before his mate, Hibari gave a smug grin. "The omnivore is in heat."

Ignoring the choking gasps of the bomb herbivore from behind him, and even the annoying chuckles of the pineapple herbivore, Hibari bent over and grabbed Tsuna by the hips, slinging him over his shoulder, determined to go find somewhere private. His mate had given the signal after all, so it was only fair he responded appropriately.


End file.
